Originally Posted by
old_newguy
If your college education lines up with working for a federal agency, it might make sense to get into the pathways program, but only if you can line up a career ladder that gets you to the GS-11 level fairly quickly. Otherwise I would recommend finding a summer position with a company doing work in your field of education and future career goals.
Also, if you do apply for fire jobs, try to find somewhere that offers employee housing. You will save a ton. Also, realize you will probably need to have an application in by Christmas to be hired.